The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will hold a Listeria meeting on November 18 in Washington DC to discuss issues and ideas related to the science of improving the safety of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products. The meeting will focus on the assessment, management and communication of risks associated with Listeria.

“The Listeria summit will provide a forum for experts from government, academia, industry and consumer organizations to discuss current research and information,” said Dr. Elsa Murano, under secretary for food safety. “This information will be very important for FSIS as it continues work in developing a final rule on ready-to-eat products.”

In early 2001, USDA published a proposed regulation that would require meat and poultry establishments to conduct food contact surface testing for generic Listeria or to address post-lethality contamination in their HACCP plans. The proposed regulation identified the need for additional scientific information and data to support the rule.